Could we see something similar in 2012 between 'Jean Girard' Jobs and 'Ricky Bobby' Ballmer?

No. 2012 is not the year that the final decision on tablets will be made.

Just a little insight for ya', but Android is not going to sit idly by and wait a few years before finding and growing their niche in the tablet market. That kind of strategy may work for companies that think they can't fail because they have a large enough war chest to survive a war of competitive attrition, but Android isn't a sloth-like, relatively static codebase that's hoping others die before stepping in. And let's not forget t